Carnal Innocence

simmering, then clear out. I can do this quicker without you sniffing ’round.”
    “Yes’m.” Tucker pressed a kiss to her cheek that made her grumble and grin. When he walked out of the steamy kitchen a few minutes later, he found Dwayne sprawled in the parlor watching another baseball game. “Wouldn’t hurt you to shave.”
    Dwayne shifted and reached for the bottle of Coke sitting on the floor. “It’s Sunday. I never shave on Sunday.”
    “We’ve got company coming.”
    Dwayne took a long swallow, and swore when the shortstop bobbled the ball. “If I shave, she might see that I’m better looking than you. Then where’d you be?”
    “I’ll risk it.”
    Dwayne snorted. “They’re going to be pulling this pitcher before the inning’s up—if they got half a brain. I’ll do it then.”
    Satisfied. Tucker started upstairs. Before he reached his room, Josie called to him.
    “Tucker? Is that you, honey?”
    “I’m going to take a shower.”
    “Well, just come on back here for a minute and help me out.”
    He checked the grandfather clock, saw he had a half hour before Caroline would arrive, and sauntered down the hall to Josie’s room.
    It looked like a department store after a clearance sale. Blouses, dresses, lingerie, shoes, were tossed over bed, chair, and window seat. A black lace teddy hung suggestively from the trunk of a stuffed pink elephant some forgotten swain had won for her at the state fair.
    She was still wearing the little red robe and her head was stuck in her closet as she pawed through what was left hanging there.
    As always, there was a scent clinging to the air, a mixture of perfumes, powders, and lotions. The result was something between the perfume counter at Bloomingdale’s and a high-class bordello.
    Tucker gave the room a brief survey, and came to the obvious conclusion. “Got a date?”
    “Teddy’s driving me down to the nine o’clock show in Greenville. I told him to come on to dinner, since we’re having company anyway. How’s this?” She turned, holding a short orange leather skirt up to her waist.
    “Too hot for leather.”
    Josie pouted a minute because she knew the skirt showed off her legs, then tossed it aside. “You’re right. I know what I need, that little cotton dress, the pink one. I wore it at a garden party last month in Jackson and got a marriage proposal and three indecent propositions. Now, where the hell is it?”
    Tucker watched as she started tossing through clothes already discarded. “I thought you were trying out the doctor for Crystal.”
    “I did.” She glanced up and grinned. “Thing is, I decided he wasn’t Crystal’s type at all. And he’ll be going back north in a day or two, and that would just break herheart. She couldn’t afford to visit him if things got serious between them. And I can. Does your head still hurt?”
    “Not much.”
    “Look here.” She pointed to a small bruise on her calf. “You went tearing out of here so fast before, you kicked up gravel. Now I’ll have to put Erase on that if I want to wear a skirt.”
    “Sorry.”
    She shrugged and went back to looking for the pink dress. “I guess it’s okay. You were upset. Everybody’s going to know she was lying, Tucker. Even before they bury her on Tuesday, everybody’ll know.”
    “I expect so.” He spotted a swatch of shell pink and crouched down to pull the dress out from under the pile. “I’ve calmed down, Josie. Hearing it from Burke
just
fired me up.”
    She touched the bandage on his forehead, and they stood close, in a drift of Josie’s perfume. They shared more than their mother’s face, more than the Longstreet name. Between them was a tie deeper than blood. It went to the heart.
    “I’m sorry she hurt you, Tucker.”
    “Poked a few holes in my pride, that’s all.” He kissed Josie lightly on the lips. “They’ll heal up fast enough.”
    “You’re just too nice to women, Tucker. It makes them fall in love with you, then you’ve got nothing but trouble. If you were a little harder on them, you wouldn’t get their expectations up.”
    “I’ll keep that in mind. Next time I take a woman out, I’ll tell her she’s ugly.”
    Josie laughed and stood up to hold the dress in front of her as she twisted and turned in front of her cheval glass. “Don’t go reciting any poetry, either.”
    “Who says I do?”
    “Carolanne told me you talked poetry when you took her over to Lake Village to look at stars.”
    Tucker shoved